Tonight's Featured Article
You've seen them — the trolls, turning the web into what Joel Stein calls "a cesspool of aggression and violence." But if you think you are safe, surrounded by your walls and tucked quietly behind your computer screen, think again.
How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet (Joel Stein, TIME)
This story is not a good idea. Not for society and certainly not for me. Because what trolls feed on is attention. And this little bit–these several thousand words–is like leaving bears a pan of baklava.
It would be smarter to be cautious, because the Internet’s personality has changed. Once it was a geek with lofty ideals about the free flow of information. Now, if you need help improving your upload speeds the web is eager to help with technical details, but if you tell it you’re struggling with depression it will try to goad you into killing yourself. Psychologists call this the online disinhibition effect, in which factors like anonymity, invisibility, a lack of authority and not communicating in real time strip away the mores society spent millennia building. And it’s seeping from our smartphones into every aspect of our lives….
Financial Markets and Economy
A Commodities Rebound Is Accelerating Right on China’s Doorstep (Bloomberg)
China may be slowing, but a commodities rebound is under way and the world’s biggest miner knows where the next growth story is building — emerging economies in Southeast Asia.
Dollar at Seven-Week Low as Fed Minutes Show Little Support for Rate Rise (Reuters)
The dollar fell to a seven-week low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed a bias among policymakers against raising interest rates soon.
The banking sector isn't the scariest part of the financial system anymore (Business Insider)
The two global regulators who oversee the derivatives market are sounding the alarm on the industry responsible for clearing trillions of dollars of in deals, warning that it has a high concentration of risk and a low ability to manage it.
Banks Ponder Vault Cash In Response To Negative Rates: Lending Reality In A Nutshell (Zero Hedge)
Under guise of preventing fraud the ECB voted to kill the €500 note.
Fraud was not the real reason. The real reason was to make it more difficult for banks to store physical cash to avoid negative interest penalties… but it's not working.
Exxon, Chevron, Hess in Joint Bid for Mexican Oil (Bloomberg)
Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Hess Corp. have agreed to bid together for rights to drill for crude in Mexico’s deepwater oil areas, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.
Wal-Mart's 2Q Earnings Beat, Outlook Raised, Shares Jump (Dow Jones Newswires)
Wal-Mart reported stronger-than-expected same-store sales growth in the latest period, with slightly more shoppers heading to its stores at a time when many retailers are struggling to attract foot traffic.
Only 12% of tickets to Rio Paralympics have been sold (CNN Money)
The upcoming Paralympic Games are suffering from abysmal ticket sales and a lack of sponsors, which is leading to major budget shortfalls and probable spending cuts.
New OPEC Freeze Wouldn’t Be So Potent as Gulf Rivals Pump More (Bloomberg)
Even if OPEC strikes a deal with Russia next month in Algiers to freeze oil production, success will mean a lot less than when they tried and failed four months ago.
Dollar Set for Longest Drop Versus Yen Since 2013 on Fed Divide (Bloomberg)
The dollar is set for its longest run of weekly losses against the yen in more than three years as traders doubt the Federal Reserve’s resolve to raise interest rates any time soon.
T-Mobile, Sprint Bring Back Unlimited Data (The Wall Street Journal)
After years of trying to wean Americans off unlimited data plans and get smartphone users to pay more for heavy use, the wireless industry is reversing course.
Cathay Pacific Drops 10 Percent Toward Worst Week in Year: Chart (Bloomberg)
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. shares are poised for their steepest weekly drop in 12 months after the Hong Kong carrier posted an 82 percent plunge in first-half net income to HK$353 million ($46 million) — just a third of what analysts estimated. Cathay facespressure on passenger yields and slower premium travel demand. Singapore Airlines Ltd., which has voiced similar concerns, is little changed on the week.
Clean Energy Fuels: This Is Just The Beginning (Seeking Alpha)
Over the past week, Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) has soared impressively on the market after the company delivered impressive second-quarter results by beating both revenue and earnings estimates by handsome margins. In fact, a 24% rise in the company's revenue on a year-over-year basis enabled it to post a profit of $0.03 per share, which was way ahead of the loss of $0.14 per share anticipated by analysts.
Trillions in Murky Investments Could Rock China’s Economy (NY Times)
SHANGHAI — The deal could be hard to resist.<p>A Shanghai investment firm is offering a fat return of up to 10 percent a year, handily beating both the local stock market and the paltry payouts from bank accounts.
San Francisco's housing bubble is collapsing under its own weight (Wolf Street)
Here’s the other side of central-bank engineered asset price inflation, or “healing the housing market,” as it’s called in a more politically correct manner…
Bank of Japan Keeps Traders Guessing on When It Buys Stock ETFs (Bloomberg)
Confusion over when the Bank of Japan will buy exchange-traded funds after it almost doubled its annual purchase target is spurring volatility in the nation’s stock market.
One Simple Chart Illustrates The Absurdity Of College Cost Inflation (Zero Hedge)
The simple chart below from the American Enterprise Institute beautifully illustrates the absurd inflation of college tuition and textbooks over the past 20 years. In real terms, the cost of college has effectively doubled over that time period.
Politics
Bringing Back Manufacturing Jobs Would Be Harder Than It Sounds (National Public Radio)
It's a line that draws thunderous applause at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign rallies, one that can sometimes even bring the crowd to its feet: Let's bring back America's lost manufacturing jobs.
Donald Trump Appoints Media Firebrand to Run Campaign (NY Times)
Donald J. Trump named as his new campaign chief on Wednesday a conservative media provocateur whose news organization regularly attacks the Republican Party establishment, savages Hillary Clinton and encourages Mr. Trump’s most pugilistic instincts.
Technology
Google Duo Makes Video Calling Between Operating Systems Easier (NY Times)
Google and Apple have battled each other for years for primacy over mobile users. Apple has proferred its superior devices, like the iPhone. Google has fought back with its Android operating system and a series of mobile apps that are more flexible and compatible.
Uber and Volvo put $300M into building self-driving cars ready for sale by 2021 (Tech Crunch)
Part of the arrangement that will bring self-driving Uber on-demand vehicles to Pittsburgh roads by the end of this year will also help Volvo bring its own self-driving cars, for use as either personal vehicles or as autonomous taxis, to market by 2021, according to the WSJ.
The world's tiniest violin fits in your palm and has invisible strings (Business Insider)
You might have pretended to "play" the tiniest violin in the world to your whiny friends before. You can now literally play them the world's tiniest violin.
Health and Life Sciences
Synchronized virtual reality heartbeat triggers out-of-body experiences (New Atlas)
New research demonstrates that triggering an out-of-body experience (OBE) could be as simple as getting a person to watch a video of themselves with their heartbeat projected onto it. According to the study, it's easy to trick the mind into thinking it belongs to an external body and manipulate a person's self-consciousness by externalizing the body's internal rhythms. The findings could lead to new treatments for people with perceptual disorders such as anorexia and could also help dieters too.
Sugar has a stronger effect on our brains than we even realised, study finds (Science Alert)
German scientists have discovered that our brains are actively taking in sugar from the blood stream, overturning the long-held assumption that this was a purely passive process.
Life on the Home Planet
Ex-NSA insiders: There's 'a lot of panic' over what's been exposed by this massive hack (Business Insider)
A group calling itself the "Shadow Brokers" claims that it hacked into the National Security Agency and stole an apparent treasure trove of exploits and hacking tools that it now wants to auction off, which some ex-NSA insiders say is extremely bizarre and very serious.
Haunting image of boy in an Aleppo ambulance captures plight of children caught in Syrian war (Los Angeles Times)
Once again, the haunting image of a little boy has become an emblem of Syria’s wartime suffering.
Twitter's Newest Marketing Move Is Brilliant (Fool.com)
Social media has always been an odd business. Unlike other media types — television, radio, and traditional print — where content is provided by paid employees or compensated contractors, the vast majority of content on social media is provided by users.
How to see everything you've ever watched on Netflix and Amazon (Engadget)
Streaming is a curious beast. One minute you'll be enjoying the 80s vibe of Stranger Things (go watch it if you haven't already) and the next you'll be struggling to pick something from that overwhelming catalog. Sometimes, though, you'll stumble on something that you'd normally never choose — a Netflix suggestion from a friend or a recent addition that had escaped your glance as you navigated Amazon Video's curated menus.
A Distracted-Driving Ban in New Jersey? Some Call It a Threat to a Way of Life (NY Times)
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Texting, we have all come to admit, is the enemy of road safety everywhere. Applying makeup behind the wheel: more or less universally frowned upon. Few would condone driving while reading a book, rooting around in the back seat or eating anything involving utensils.
